We Fit Together Like Dovetail Joints (Or Something)
by Domestic Servant
Summary: The war has ended and Sasuke was back in Konoha. Everything was finally going to go back to normal, right? Wrong! Sasuke decides to take a permanent leave of absence from the ninja life and...take up carpentry instead? Wait, what! (Warning: this is pure self-indulgent Sasuke-centric fluffpoop, proceed with caution)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, so here's the thing. I kinda fell out of the Naruto fandom a few years back and suddenly found myself back into it after a horrible fit of curiosity. To be honest I thought the series had ended already...apparently not. Anyway, this is purely self-indulgent. It's an AU-future fic after the final battle so if you're not caught up then probably...I don't know. Read at your own discretion. Also, I kinda skipped like 200 chapters while catching myself up to the manga. I stopped reading shortly after Itachi died and started back right as the battle with Kaguya started.**

**Anyway, this is all pure weird fluff. I love Sasuke's stupid character so the focus is on him a lot.**

**Bear with me if you can. I have no idea where this is going. **

**Try not to expect much. **

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In the wake of its rebuilding, Konoha found itself expanded past the old walls that guarded it in its earlier days. Many refugees made their way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves and used the opportunity to establish new boroughs on the very edges of its borders. Everything save for the main buildings in the town center found itself rearranged more or less, in order to accommodate the influx of population.

The little boroughs themselves started off as small refugee settlements during the early stages of rebuilding Konoha and slowly they rooted themselves into the earth until they became just as natural to the cityscape as the Hokage monument. Still, the boroughs were stigmatized, being created by outsiders, and so they mostly kept to themselves. They were largely civilian and self-sufficient, only contributing to the village in the forms of harvested goods at the local farmer's markets and artisanal crafts. Really, all they wanted was a place to call home and some good old classic shinobi protection. The war had made many people jumpy and suspicious, to say the least.

It is in one of these small neighborhoods overlooking a wide field of crops settled by various nomadic refugees, five years after the war, that we find our very own Uchiha Sasuke sliding a table out from inside a small, dignified carpentry shop and into the morning sun. His calloused hands smooth away the sawdust from the tabletop that had settled onto it overnight and begins meticulously sanding the naked wood.

Wait…what?

That's right, Uchiha Sasuke, self-proclaimed avenger of the fallen Uchiha clan, #1 rookie of the year, missing-nin, probably S-rank criminal in some parts of the known world, leader of Team Taka, cold-blooded Sharingan whatever whatever, etc…was now a young master carpenter living a qiuet civilian life.

His hand brushed his long bangs from his forehead, wiping sweat off his brow. It was still early, but already pretty hot. He set down his sandpaper and walked inside to get a glass of water.

Pausing at the window on his storefront, Sasuke stared at his reflection. He barely recognized himself. For all the hours and days spent walking and wandering the lands with Taka, Sasuke still managed to remain pale. Now, after five years of helping his nieghbors harvest their crops, cutting wood in the forest, and learning every trick of the trade from his late woodworking master, Sasuke's skin had developed a slight tan. He figured he was still very pale when compared to his darker counterparts like Kiba or Naruto, the likes of which he hasn't seen in quite a while, but if he had his old avenger self standing next to him staring at the same window, there would definitely be a marked difference in skin tones.

He decided that he preferred being tan. It made him less…Uchiha-like.

He had also grown his hair out too. The only downside was that his hair doubled in unruliness as it grew and dealing with it in the summer heat was almost unbearable. The thickness could rival that of Madara's. But he figured it was worth it. He looked young with short hair and too much like his former self. And the whole point of living so far into the outskirts of Konoha was to escape the baggage that he had been carrying for so long.

Sasuke sighed, walking into the store for that glass of water, and pulling his hair up into a bun as he went. It was way to hot for just a ponytail and all the neighbors around him knew better than to comment on how feminine the bun made him look anyway. For those who didn't know, they would learn.

Yeah, Sasuke was a civilian now, but that didn't stop him from training every now and then. He mostly stayed away from ninjutsu and anything to do with his Sharingan. After all, his eyes were pretty important for carpentry, and his Sharingan was kind of counter-intuitive for keeping healthy eyes. He already had to wear glasses to read.

He quite enjoyed being a civilian, anyhow.

As it turned out, despite announcing to anyone who was anyone that he wanted to become Hokage, Sasuke ended up becoming very much the opposite. In the aftermath of the war, Sasuke never really found the energy to leave the Konoha faction of the allied forces after they finally figured out how to release the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Coming down from the high of their teamwork and victory against who he now dubbed as the ultimate ninja boss, he and Naruto hugged out all of the lost years of their friendship. Of course, Sasuke cut the intimate contact short after a few seconds, but he never left Team 7's side until they reached the burning rubble of Konoha. He was hesitant to admit out loud that he was returning to his childhood village, until Taka found their way to them and asked "Where to next?" Sasuke shrugged and that was that. He was tired and the idea of wandering the lands for the rest of his life frankly made him want to jump off a cliff. His gesture was mostly understood by Taka. Karin ended up staying in the village if only to be close to Sasuke (although she found herself falling more and more in love with her newfound purpose as a leading innovator in the healing arts, and quickly forgot about the Uchiha. Especially since he so easily slipped into anonymity shortly after getting back.) Juugo stayed too, doing something with an animal sanctuary last he heard. Typical Juugo. Suigetsu had made a face and declared something about roaming the lands and dealing with unfinished business, punching Sasuke in the shoulder in goodbye, and getting swiftly (and violently) reprimanded by Karin for doing so. Naruto called out to him saying he was welcome back anytime. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

After a few weeks back in Konoha, he ended up staying at his old compound. As expected, he hated it. He suspected the place was haunted because he definitely felt extra presences following his every footstep. He spent as much time as he could outside of the walls of the Uchiha complex, spending time with his peers and old teachers, helping out and supervising the rebuilding when he could.

To Naruto, his best friend, things seemed to be returning back to normal. Everything that had happened between their first Chuunin exams and the present was but a blip in the timeline of their epic friendship.

To Sasuke, things were falling apart fast. Days past and he felt heavier and heavier with the prospect of having to face the Rokudaime (Tsunade had since left her post, as she deserved the rest, and Kakashi reluctantly accepted the position. As much as he pretended to hate the responsibilites that came with it, he was doing a fine job, mostly thanks to his fantastic assistants and advisors) and the remaining members of the council. He thought he would be more excited to finally cleanse the Uchiha name of all the dirt and grime that had been piled onto it since probably the conception of the village. But really, the thought just left a bad taste in his mouth. He would look around himself at brand new buildings being erected and wished he could recreate himself into a man shiny and new and devoid of all the gross things that had occurred in his life. He didn't consider it cowardice. Mostly just reluctance to open those particular cans of worms after spending so much time and energy living a life of perpetual chaos.

And so one day, about three months after returning to Konoha, he requested a meeting with the Rokudaime.

Kakashi looked up from an official looking folder he was examining, no doubt shielding a well-worn copy of Icha-Icha.

"You wanted to see me, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke shifted in his place, his hitai-ate bunched up in his hands.

Kakashi cleared his throat, setting down his folder (erotic novel.) "Is this about—"

"No!" Sasuke interrupted. "Ahh, excuse me, no. Hokage…sama." His face scrunched as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. He had long since stopped referring to Kakashi as sensei, unlike Naruto or Sakura, and he didn't usually speak to the man so formally on the outside either, not really caring enough about how that reflected on him as a subordinate. But within these walls and under the intense gaze of his former teacher, he felt super exposed and super uncomfortable. And he wanted to butter the man up.

"Try to act less comfortable, Sasuke-kun. Now, what is it you want?"

A heavy sigh. "I would like to formally request to be released of my duties as a Leaf-ninja."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. Definitely not was he was expecting at all, although he wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting. "Maa…that's a lot of paperwork and red tape I would have to go through to approve that. Do you get a kick out of making my life difficult? What makes you decide this, so out of the blue, anyway?"

"I just…don't want this life anymore," Sasuke closed his eyes ran his hands through his hair. He had already begun growing it out in those early days and it was already near shoulder-length. Impressive, he thought absently. He had so much more to say but couldn't find the energy or words to explain. Kakashi, thankfully, understood everything he couldn't put into words.

"You do intend on staying?" The question was simple but loaded.

Sasuke opened his eyes at that, knitting his eyebrows together in frustration. "Well, yeah, of course. All I want is to step down from my position as a ninja, not go on some self-indulgent blood thirsty quest. I'm not 12.

This time it was Kakashi's turn to roll his eyes. "I never said you were. But even so I had to be sure. Naruto is about obsessed as they come and frankly I can't really afford to let him chase after you like some crazed roadie. He's needed here. "

"You have my word," Sasuke said, mockingly raising his hand.

Kakashi examined his former student. He had changed considerably in the past few months. He was still mostly a silent observer amongst his peers, but he was a lot more passive and geniunely calm. Definitely not the murderous traitor that he encountered many times before the onset of the war. And while he seemed to have found his way back into the close-knit rookie nine, and there were times where he seemed to really enjoy the company, Kakashi found Sasuke appear more and more desperate for _something_ everyday. Desperate for what, he couldn't put his finger on, but seeing the young man in front of him now, he knew that Sasuke was itching for some kind of escape. Kakashi reckoned that that was all Sasuke had ever wanted in his life ever since the Uchiha massacre. Everything he did was some roundabout way of running from things he didn't want to face, most of them revolving around the legacy of his clan. He couldn't really blame him, all things considered.

At that moment Kakashi felt an unwavering sympathy for Sasuke. As annoying as it would be to expedite Sasuke's request, he would do this one favor for him. Nothing that really mattered ever came easy for Sasuke, so Kakashi thought now is as any good a time to use his power to give Sasuke this one break.

"Maaah, I suppose I can make this one exception for you. You're lucky this time around. Now, get out of my sight, Sasuke-kun. Consider yourself a former Konoha lackey. Stay out of trouble, though. Or you'll be answering to me."

Relief flooded Sasuke's face. He stepped up to the desk and set the hitai-ate in front of Kakashi. "Thank you…sensei."

Kakashi placed his hand on top of the forehead protector as he watched Sasuke leap out of his window and through the rooftops of Konoha. He idly wondered how Naruto, who had just the other day left for a three month long diplomacy mission to Suna, was going to take the news. He shrugged and picked up his book, forgoing the cover of the folder now that company was gone. He would deal with Naruto when the time came. After all, Sasuke probably timed this for a reason.

Sasuke had been overjoyed. The meeting with Kakashi had gone smoother than aniticipated. Now he could finally life a life anew. He walked into his compound and gathered his few belongings, everything fitting into a small rucksack. He left most of his weaponry behind, keeping only his katana and summoning contract. Locking the gates of the Uchiha compound for the last time, Sasuke set off in the direction of a neighborhood he had familiarized himself with in the past few months. Within the hour he spent walking (Konoha had really, really grown) Sasuke found himself in an outer borough of the village, home to many formerly nomadic tribes and given the unoriginal name of the Nomadic Sector. During the early stages of rebuilding, he helped out a local carpenter in said neighborhood create wooden furniture for people's homes and had kept in contact with him ever since.

He approached the storefront of Takumi's Carpentry and peeked inside. He saw the old man sitting inside, idly carving a block of wood. Bells over the doorway jiingled as he opened the door and Takumi looked up, giving the familiar face a partially toothless smile.

"Well well, look who it is! Haven't seen you in awhile. What brings you to these parts, my boy?"

Sasuke gave a light smile. He really enjoyed speaking with Takumi.

"Ahh, I was wondering if the space above your shop was still vacant? I decided to move out of my complex…it's too big for just me," _and probably too haunted to rent out _he finished in his head.

Takumi examined the young Uchiha. "Yeah, it's still empty. I ain't gonna give it away for free."

"I have money."

At that, Takumi shook his head and chuckled to himself. "I don't want your money, boy. I want you to work for me. You helped out months ago and I saw your potential. I think you'd make a fine woodworker. Besides, I'm getting old and won't be around forever. I need someone to keep this little place going. Would you care to become my apprentice, in exchange for a place to call your own?"

That was enough to convince Sasuke. He honestly couldn't believe his luck. He was desperate to erase any semblance of being a shinobi and so put all of his energy and efforts into learning the meticulous craft of woodworking. It required nothing but sweat and dedication, two things Sasuke had more than enough of.

Eventually, Sasuke's apprenticeship grew into mastery, spending the better parts of next five years traveling around to different countries, building a network of connections with woodworkers in nieghboring villages, and learning new techniques. With the sad and untimely death of Takumi, he had become the sole proprieter of Takumi's Carpentry. He kept the name as an homage to the old man, of course. And with it, he made a more than decent living, having gained notoriety for beautifully handcrafted custom furniture throughout the lands and a good amount of loyal followers, especially amongst the nobility.

The best part of all was he hadn't ran into or spoken to any of his former friends in those five years. He missed them some days, but he relished in this new found anonymity. Nobody in the Nomadic Sector knew a thing about the Uchiha name. They had spent much of their lives traveling the lands, focusing only on their survival, and only giving a damn about ninjas when it made their lives inconvenient (read: the Fourth Shinobi World War.) The only one who really knew about his past was Takumi, and Takumi knew to keep quiet. Sasuke didn't mask his knowledge of swordsmanship though, and trained weekly when he had the spare time, reveling in the admiration of the small children that inhabitied the tight-knit neighborhood.

He was an Uchiha after all, and he loved the attention when he chose to have it.

It was a loud thunk that jolted him from his long-winded trip down memory lane. Setting his glass of water down, he ventured outside to his storefront. After a couple seconds, his face fell, looking on in horror at an incoming silhuoette of a friend he hadn't seen (had probably kind of been avoiding) for years.

"Uhhhhh…" was all he could get out before he was blinded by a swirling ball of chakra.

"SASUKEEEEEHHHHHHHHH"

The man in question was rooted in his place. He squinted his eyes shut, bracing for impact, and holding up a flimsy scrap of wood for protection, but also sheilding his the table from any damage. He had never felt so pathetic, but also if that table was chipped even a little there would be hell to pay.

However, bodily impact never occurred. Instead, he felt the wall behind him explode into shards from the pure whirling energy of Naruto's Rasengan, and when he opened his eyes and looked to the right, he saw Naruto's arm lodged into the side of Takumi's Carpentry, and Naruto himself staring defiantly at Sasuke. Well, this was certainly unexpected.

"I expect you to pay for these damages…Usuratonkachi."

Sasuke smirked. His it never failed him. A look into Sasuke's inner-conscious would find the image of Sasuke preening himself and shooting handguns at his reflection.

Naruto, however, was not amused. He had spent his entire adolescence chasing after Sasuke and after finding out that Sasuke had no intentions of leaving Konoha after the war, he thought that things would finally return back to normal or something along those lines. And they had…for a while.

Turns out, Sasuke had disappeared yet again just three months after returning to Konoha! And under Naruto's own nose no less. He still remembered Kakashi casually mentioning Sasuke stepping down from his duties as a shinobi after asking the Rokudaime if he had seen the Uchiha. After all, he had just returned from a long mission out in Suna, and he really missed the Uchiha, and wait WHAT?

"KAKASHI-SENSEI ARE YOU FUCKING OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "Well, you asked."

"How could you allow that? Where is he? Where is that good for nothing bastard?!"

To be honest Kakashi had no idea where the Uchiha was, but he told Naruto that he moved to a small apartment somewhere in the outskirts of Konoha and he wished for his whereabouts to remain unknown. For a guy who was bullshitting his way out of an uncomfortable conversation with a relentless Naruto, Kakashi was doing a pretty fine job.

But back to the situation at hand. Even with his nearly constant long-term trips to allied villages in the name of peace keeping and diplomacy, coupled with pretty regular A and S-rank missions, Naruto diligently searched the confines of Konoha for any clues of Sasuke's whereabouts during his few free days. One would think this feat to be simple and over with in no time at all, but considering his longest mission to date had lasted a year, helping build and establish a working ninja academy in Otogakure, he wasn't super surprised that it took him this long to find the Uchiha, even if he _had _really been in Konoha after all.

"Teme…we haven't seen each other for five years and that's how you greet me? Also, can we talk about how you'd basically skipped out on me again? While I was on a mission? It took me so long to track you down—_in my own village which you and I live in. _You couldn't like, wait for me to come back from Suna all those years ago and just let me know how you were feeling? Uhgg sometimes I just hate you. "

Naruto retracted his hand from the large hole in the wall and clenched his fists at his sides, squaring his shoulders, and…pouting.

"I'm sorry, but if I recall correctly, you're the one who blindsided me with an assassination jutsu instead of, I don't know, opening the door like a normal person. There's bells, so I would've heard you come in." Sasuke pointed to the top of the doorway. "Also, you act as though I broke up with you in the most undignified way. So dramatic. You may have grown in appearance, but you're still a moron."

Naruto's face fell. Okay, so maybe his entrance was a little overdramatic…

"Sasukeeeeehhhhhh, I just wanted to be friends with you again and you make it so hard! And it felt like you broke up with me. I'd never felt so rejected in my life. Sakura could say no to me a thousand times and I'd still feel a lot better than I did when Kakashi told me you'd disappeared yet again." Naruto crossed his arms and pouted harder, if that was possible, and glaring as Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to sanding the tabletop.

"We are friends. Now go away."

But Naruto was not so easily gotten rid of. "That's not what I meant, teme. You've been away for so long and now that you're here you're still so far away. I just…I miss you is all. We got along so great after the fight with Kaguya and then you disappeared again. I mean what the hell! Talk about leading a guy on..."

Sasuke stopped and turned away. Why did Naruto have to make their friendship seem so homoerotic. Ok, perhaps there was some weird tension between them that they'd both been kind of ignoring all those years, but really. Naruto could never cut him a break. Especially now. This conversation was so loaded on so many different levels and adding those small remarks about their questionable friendship was not helping him to go about this confrontation with a rational mind.

He felt Naruto's eyes on him as he stared at the sawdust on the ground. He wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment but it was pretty unpleasant. Seeing Naruto again after such a long time was disarming to every carefully constructed wall he'd put up to avoid confronting any and all shinobi-related responsibilities associated with the Uchiha name.

"Naruto…" he started. "Naruto...I'm not going to apologize for deciding to live my life a certain way. I just haven't been ready to face certain things yet and I was breaking down . It's not like I wake up everyday and say to myself 'Sasuke, you know the drill, avoid Naruto and everyone associated with your past at all costs.'"

(Actually, he totally says those exact words aloud over during his Sun Salutation every morning.)

Naruto rolled his eyes and huffed. "Please, everything about your life right now screams avoidance; and its not like I'm upset that you're no longer a ninja. We all have our reasons for doing the things we do, and I'm not about to question your fucked up backwards logic. Can't we just like, hang out for once? Somewhere? It could even be in secret. I'll be dead before we do anything together at this rate. Sakura's been telling me to just give you space and let you come to me but its been five years and I'm _tired of waiting_."

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked at Naruto. Now that he thought about it, this was a pretty dramatic moment. The sun had begun to set (wait the sun was already setting?) in the distance and the street he was on had a very clear shot of it lowering itself between two distant mountains. From an observer's perspective, he could imagine their two darkened silhouettes facing each other as the sun crept down slowly out of sigh—

Naruto snapped his fingers in Sasuke's face.

"Oi, teme, back to earth. What's with the thousand-yard stare? We've been standing here in silence for 10 minutes."

Sasuke blinked. He really needed to spend less time inside his head.

Shaking himself out, he peered at Naruto through narrowed eyes. "Dobe…"

"Hey! Who's the dobe now, teme! You make tables for people less important than me and below my paygrade! Hah!"

"…Dobe…before you so rudely interrupted me," Sasuke cleared his throat and glanced to the side. "Since you went through the trouble to track me down, I suppose we could spend some leisure time together. Also, talk down my profession one more time and I will saw your hands off in your sleep. I've crafted pieces for Kings. Idiot."

Naruto scratched his cheek and laughed nervously.

"Nehehe, sorry. But yatta! Friendship victory, game-set-match! Although, why you gotta be so formal about it? Leisure time, pft. Yeah, whatever you say, Shino.

Sasuke glared. "I'm still expecting you to pay for these damages."

"Eeeehhhhh? A ninja's gotta pay for bills too you know! I go on a lot of high-class missions but I don't have a bottomless wallet! What's a little fun between old friends, neh?"

"Should've thought about that before you destroyed part of my property. Usuratonkachi."

"What? Can't you fix it yourself? You build stuff for a living now! You're like a master! Sasukeeh!"

"I can have you formally reprimanded for destroying civilian property without due cause in addition to beligerantly coming at me with an intent to kill and/or mortally would me. There were witnesses you know."

"Sa-Sa-Sasuke…" Naruto gaped at his friend. Formally reprimanded? For a hole in the wall? Assassination jutsu? Civilian? Witnesses? Hell! No! He would be put on probation for sure and that could not happen under any circumstances. He put his hands up in surrender. "Mahh, fine fine you win. How about this? How about I help you rebuild this wall, neh? We can hang out and do something constructive at the same time. Neh? Neh? I'll even buy the supplies. Just hand me a list and I'll get them!"

Sasuke wasn't sure how he felt about this plan, but it was better than being dragged into the village's center where he would probably run into every single person he didn't want to run into.

"Hn, fair enough. I need to finish this table though. It's due in a few days. Come by tomorrow and I'll have a list for you of what we'll need."

Naruto smirked. "Hmm, presumptuous, Uchiha. I could have a mission tomorrow!"

"Do you?"

"No."

"Then we're fine. Can you go now?" Sasuke waved Naruto off with his hands, rolling his eyes as he watched his old friend leap on the rooftops and out of sight. He was joined a moment later by his neighber, Akane-baba. Akane was a middle-aged lady who ran a vegetable stand in the farmers market in downtown Konoha. She gave a lot of her surplus harvest to Sasuke. His favorites were her heirloom tomatoes. So full of rich, deep flavor. They made the best tarts.

She smiled at Sasuke. "I see that boy quite a bit whenever I'm in town. I wasn't aware you two were acquainted. He's so nice."

A small smile found its way onto his face. "Hn, we go way back. Kind of. He's ok, I guess."

And with that he turned around and walked back into his shop, bidding goodbye to his neighbor after receiving a bag full of vegetables from her, but not before carefully lifting the unfinished table and setting it inside. He looked at the gaping hole in the side of his shop and sighed. Grabbing a couple spare planks of wood, he quickly fashioned a make-shift patch that would have to do for the time being, just so his tools and works in progress weren't left exposed.

Finishing the patch job, Sasuke walked up the stairs that led up into his apartment. He clicked the light on, illuminating his living room. After taking a few glances around the room, he began tidying up the place. It's not like he had a lot of belongings lying around, naturally gaining a minimalist's mentality during his nomadic days. But that didn't prevent life from piling up around him. Mugs were scattered here and there along with woodworking books, stray tools, and blocks of scrap wood that he would idly practice his hand-carving on. He was currently working on a new design vaguely inspired by the Sharingan but no one had to know that detail except for him.

Sasuke looked at the clock and saw that it was still fairly early. Making himself a cup of tea, he grabbed his notebook and began reviewing his notes for the table he was currently working on. The job was coming along fairly smooth, as expected for such a simple commission. Tables were the first pieces of furniture that he really mastered during his tutelage under Takumi and were his favorite to make. He looked at the table he was currently using, it being the first complete piece he made all on his own. He was particularly proud of this one, having come up with the design and dimensions for it himself. His hands brushed the inlaid design on the tabletop, the opposing pieces of wood stained different shades so that the design would pop.

Somehow, Sasuke had found himself to be a natural at the kind of minimalist design that was really in right now. He wasn't sure if all of his dead anscestors were turning over in their graves or not at what he was currently doing to pass his time in this life. He tried not to think about how his life choices were reflecting on the notorious Uchiha name. He just really liked making things for once instead of destroying them. And the fact that he got paid pretty well for it was just extra.

Sasuke shut his notebook and set down his now empty cup of tea. Tired from the days events, he made his way to his bedroom, flopping down on his bed after changing out of his dirty work clothes.

He just couldn't believe he saw Naruto today. It's not like he'd been trying to stay away (ok he had), but really…he'd been so careful to stay in the confines of his quiet neighborhood in the outskirts of Konoha. And when he left the village on his many excursions, he always passed through the gates heavily disguised. He saw his peers many times without being recognized, but he never thought to really change his appearance when he was back at his shop. He wondered who tipped Naruto off at his location. It could've been anyone.

"I'm always being betrayed," he muttered to himself half-heartedly before turning over and falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**OMG i totally forgot i was simultaneously posting this on here in addition to ao3 hahaha oops, but anyway here is chapter two, its just as terrible as the first chapter...i have up to ch 8 written but i'll update gradually. enjoy (maybe)~**

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Sasuke woke up early the next morning, a few hours after dawn broke. His favorite part of the day was the early morning, and he relished working on his pieces in the quiet solitude of a still sleeping village.

As he fashioned himself a pot of coffee, he stilled. Was that rustling he heard? He slowly crept towards the noise, finding himself in his own bedroom. What in the-

"Naruto what the fuck?!" Naruto whirled around in shock, halfway through Sasuke's bedroom window.

"Nehehehe, sorry Sasuke, old habits die hard I guess?" he scratched the side of his cheek in embarrassment. As if he hadn't just broke and entered into someone's bedroom just now. As if this was normal. Sasuke was livid.

"Well I'd appreciate if you didn't just come waltzing in through my window…what if I had been asleep?"

"I'd just slip in quietly and then stare at you til you woke up?"

"You're horrible. And a pervert." Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked back to the kitchen, hoping his coffee was still warm enough to enjoy. "Why are you here so early anyway?"

"Uhhh, I was just so excited. I couldn't sleep at all last night and actually spent the whole night imagining what today was going to be like. Also I noticed you put some boards over the hole I created. You didn't already fix it did you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was doing that a lot more than usual lately. "Dobe, that was just to keep my possessions inside from being exposed to the hoodlums that sometimes plague these parts of Konoha. I wasn't about to leave a gaping hole in my storefront. It still needs to be properly renovated…don't think you're getting off that easy. Also I'm kind of offended that you would think that patch job was the end game. I have standards. High standards."

Naruto punched the air in glee. "Yatta! I was hoping! I can't wait! I'll get to see Uchiha Sasuke in action. I've asked around since yesterday and apparently you're pretty well known in the woodworking world. Didn't even know it existed. Maaahhh, you seem to succeed in everything you do. So jealous."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and took a sip of coffee. "Usuratonkachi."

However, inside his mind, Sasuke was positively glowing from the compliments. Of course he was the #1 woodworker in not only Fire Country but just about every other country you could think of! He didn't half-ass anything, even if it was a means to escape responsibilities. If he was going to metaphorically run away from his problems he was going to run away with dignity and excellence.

"Hey, mind if I grab a cup? I like the idea of chatting over a cup of coffee in the morning," Naruto made his way over to Sasuke's kitchen and found, amazingly, an orange mug. "I mean, it sounds like something close friends would do," he added (kind of) passive aggressively, sitting himself down at the dining table.

Sasuke, joining him at the table, stared blankly at Naruto's sad attempt to…make him feel bad? "Is that some sad attempt to make me feel bad?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly, "Ahh, yeah, you caught me. So, what's on the agenda today, friend? Besides getting supplies?" He took a sip of coffee, frowning down at the bitter liquid. He didn't drink coffee at all and wasn't sure why he felt compelled to grab a cup of the stuff, besides maybe trying to look as cool as Sasuke did peering out over the steam curling out from the beverage.

Man, Sasuke was so awesome and he didn't even try.

"I hope you don't think I'm going with you to get supplies? That wasn't part of our agreement."

Naruto frowned. "I don't remember signing any contracts. You're coming with me! I already let everyone know that I found you! I promised them I'd bring you out! They'll be so shocked at how you've changed! I mean, look at your coloring! And your hair!"

"Hn."

"You'd give Madara a run for his money with those locks," Naruto leaned on his palm, having officially abandoned his coffee. He fought down the temptation to twirl Sasuke's hair between his fingers.

"My hair is not that crazy…" he peered up at his bangs, as if he could see his entire head of hair by looking upwards. "Is it?"

"It's pretty wild, man."

"You've changed too you know."

Naruto frowned. "How so? I still look the same…"

Sasuke made a face. "Well first of all, you're hair is way short. It's a little weird. And you look…like an adult now. Which is even stranger than the hair. Although it's nice to know you're still the same dumb Naruto that I've grown to loathe...and I mean that in the nicest way of course." It was unlike himself to hand out compliments like that and the moment definitely made him uncomfortable. But it was the truth. Naruto grew up to be very well-kept and mature. He was sure many girls were chasing after him now with his important role in the village and his past heroics. From what he surmised though, Naruto was still single. It's not like he'd been sniffing around for gossip. Even though he lived in pleasant solitude amongst the uncaring Nomads, he still thumbed through Konoha's daily tabloid rag, The Konoha Post.

"Hey! I'm not dumb! I make important decisions! Just ask Kakashi-sensei! I'm important! To the village! And also-"

While Naruto very loudly listed off his credentials, Sasuke finished the last dregs of his coffee and got up, grabbing Naruto's still full mug, and placed them in the sink. He stared out the window. He had lived five years in solitude, save for the civilians he got to know around his shop and apartment. He was living an incredibly peaceful life doing something he really enjoyed and got such gratification from. But he was hesitant to admit he felt completely fulfilled. There was something, perhaps someone, missing in his lukewarm, shriveled heart. And he was sure there was some meaningful reason he kept tabs with Naruto's love life, even if it was through questionable unnamed sources and blurry photographs. He had convinced himself it was just out of pure curiosity and a reminder to himself that this could've been his live. Had he stayed amongst his shinobi peers, surely people would've gossiped about who he was going to marry and start rumours. He told himself it was merely a physical reminder that ditching that life had been the right choice. But seeing Naruto again and watching him leave after so many years left him gasping for air in the dead of night, wondering if yesterday had all been a dream, and kinda hoping it wasn't, and how much alcohol was going to be required to get rid of any memories of the day, but also wondering if he should write it all down in detail so that he'd never forget. Stupid, stupid, he was so stu—

A loud crash and a throbbing pain interrupted his thoughts…. He lurched forward, clutching the back of his head as he looked at a piece of wood fall heavily into the sink. He whirled around and faced a very irritated looking Naruto, and stared at him in anger and disbelief.

"Naruto what the fuck was that for?!" He brought his hand in front of his face, checking for blood. Good. None.

"You were literally staring out the window for ages. Like, just staring. Is this going to be a thing now? Cause if it is, I totally accept. After all, it gives me an excuse to throw things at you. And its good to know you have flaws."

"Ugh, so what, I've become a little introspective. Sue me. And that doesn't give you permission to throw things at me."

"A little introspective? Sasuke, you were on another plane of existence for fifteen minutes. No wonder you have such a slow turnaround for your commissions."

He could tell Naruto was patting himself on the back after that comment, and ignoring the light shade thrown at his work ethic (which, if he had anything to say about it, his turnaround was pretty damn fast considering how much quality he put out within any given time frame) Sasuke grabbed the piece of wood from the sink and toweled off any and all stray drops of moisture on it.

"I'd also appreciate it if you didn't throw my practice blocks. I've been working on this new design for ages and it would probably upset Kakashi if anything fatal were to happen to you."

"I'm not sure I like what that's implying."

"Moron."

After a couple beats of silence, Naruto clapped his hands together. "So! Sasuke! When should we get started? I think the shops should be open by now, and if not, we could always wander Konoha until they do open!"

"It sounds like you really thought this through."

"I know you're just joking, but I really actually couldn't sleep last night. I was just so excited that I finally found you and you're one of my important peo—"

Uggghh, Sasuke hated when Naruto started to wax poetic. In fact, it was one of the worst traits about the guy. He could talk a statue into the ground. He could talk the sun into an eternal eclipse. He could probably talk a star into a premature supernova. Hell, who was Sasuke kidding? He's talked the baddest of the bad into reforming so hard that they actually probably join Naruto in afternoon teatime now, or if not that, performing seppuku to get out of the hell that is Naruto's proclamation of eternal friendship. He stared blankly at Naruto, whose mouth was still moving, words tumbling out in inspiring and sentimental phrases. He vaguely heard the distant melodic hum of the man's deep voice. He blinked and furrowed his eyebrows. When had his voice gotten so deep and husky? Also, why was it getting louder and why was his face was morphing into an angry expression? Wasn't he still on about how he missed Sasuke? Was Sasuke even listening?

"Sasuke are YOU EVEN LISTENING?" Naruto covered his face with both hands in exasperation. He was supposed to be the deadlast. He was! And Sasuke still managed to look cool and collected in all his absentminded glory. So unfair. Also: super rude. All of his words come straight from the heart!

"Yeah, not really."

He could practically feel the scream of frustration that Naruto so maturely swallowed down. Had this happened during their early Team 7 days, he was sure Naruto would've come at him with shadow clones from all sides. Those were the days.

Sasuke shook his head and chuckled quietly to himself. "Sorry Naruto, I don't mean to provoke you. I just don't like to listen to things I've heard a million times already. And don't try to deny it. You basically rehashed the same speech you've given me everytime we happened to come across each other during my avenger days. It's old news and frankly, I don't give a shit. Anyway, let me change. We can head out then."

Naruto crossed his arms and pinned Sasuke with a murderous glare. "I swear you are the most insufferable little—"

But Sasuke didn't get to hear the rest of Naruto's rant because he slammed his bedroom door shut as soon as he walked through the doorway. Determined to not get lost in his thoughts, Sasuke effectively blanked out his mind and grabbed the nearest clean clothes he could find. So jeans and a shirt. Pretty much his basic 'running errands' uniform. His outfits became a lot more creative when he was traveling, depending on where he was going. He found he really loved dressing up just for the sake of dressing up and lamented the fact that he wasted so much of his youth wearing such an ugly outfit during his Taka days. He could never forgive himsel—

"Dammit," he cursed to himself as he realized he had been staring at the pair of pants in his hands for the past five minutes. "Maybe I should see a professional about this…"

Nahh…

Pulling on the pants, and grabbing the nearest clean shirt, he walked out into his living room to find Naruto thumbing through his notebooks.

"Naruto! You could've asked?!"

The blond looked up at him. "Yeah, but I didn't want to risk interrupting you in what was probably another weird episode of 'Sasuke stares blankly at an inanimate object for a long time.'"

"I wasn't—"

"Save it. We both know you were."

He stomped over (with the utmost of dignity) to where Naruto was sitting and snatched the notebook from his friend. " ANYWAY, this! Is mine. Now get up. We're leaving to get supplies. It's a good thing I'm going with you anyway, now that I think about it. You wouldn't know right from left when it comes to carpentry."

Naruto scowled. "I could do it if I put my mind to it! I can do anything! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I practically saved the world!"

"Yeah, with whose help though? Mine. Thank you, you're welcome."

"It was mostly me though…well, and Kakashi….and Sakura…and Obito….and the re-animated Hokages…Ugh. Whatever."

The two friends continued bickering all the way down the stairs about who did what during the final battle of the war and through the front door, stopping on the street.

"So, which way?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke pointed towards the town center. "That way, dobe. All you have to do is follow the Hokage monument. It's not like we're in the middle of nowhere. How do you not know you're way from here?"

"Well, rooftop navigation is slightly different from street if you ask me. Everything's really cramped around here. I can't tell a street from an alleyway to be honest. And it's so far just walking. Can't you just…"

"No. My chakra control is probably not that great seeing as my coils have lain dormant for the past five years."

"I can carry you."

"Hell no. You can go, I'll meet you there in an hour."

"Oh come on!"

"N O"

Naruto peered at Sasuke through narrowed eyes. He shrugged. "Fine then, have it your way," he swooped down and picked up Sasuke bridal style, who gave off a most undignified shriek because of all the ways this conversation could've ended, he did not expect this to be a viable trajectory.

"PUT ME DOWN. PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW. PUT. ME. DOWN. NOW. NARUTO. NARUTO I DEMAND YOU RELEASE ME-"

Naruto's gleeful laughter all but drowned out Sasuke's alarmingly violent and graphic threats. Within 15 minutes they were in the town center and Naruto set Sasuke down onto the ground. His knees were slightly shaky from the adrenaline rush and the speed, but really he was more angry than anything.

Naruto's laughter boomed throughout the square. He reached over and rustled something out of Sasuke's hair. He looked at Sasuke in mirth and held up a struggling bird in front of his face. "Sasuke looks like you caught a little stowaway on our trip over here."

Sasuke felt now was as good a time as ever to practice some breathing exercises. But not before grabbing the bird and shoving it into Naruto's mouth, forcing the blond's mouth shut and holding his hand over his face to keep him from spitting it out.

While Naruto struggled to not choke on the small bird currently struggling in his mouth, Sasuke heard a shout: "SASUKE-KUN? NO WAY!" and "I told you. Does the Hokage ever lie?"

Great. Sakura and Kakashi.

Sasuke turned his head towards the figures making their way towards them, letting go of Naruto's face in the process, who used the opportunity to spit the bird out, along with what felt like all of its feathers. Thankfully, it survived. And it learned to avoid any and all males with long black hair for the rest of its bird life.

"Team 7 reunites once again," the Rokudaime examines the boys in front of him. He caught wind of Naruto finally discovering the whereabouts of Sasuke, and it was only a matter of time before he dragged the boy back into his tight clutches. He would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to seeing his former student again, though.

"Sasuke-kun, you're HAIR," was all Sakura could focus on. Even though she became somewhat friends with him after the war, seeing him again after such a long and thorough hiatus hit her with a wave of nostalgia. He had really grown. His hair, that is. He looked like a completely different person, to be honest.

Naruto's laughter started again. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, you should've seen. A poor little bird got stuck in his hair on the way here! I picked him up so we could travel by rooftops because something with his chakra coils and dormant or whatever and his hair was so all over the place that a bird flew into it and couldn't get out! I had to save it!"

"Yeah, dobe, and then what happened? What happened after that? Go on, tell her. Tell her how you almost swallowed that same bird."

"Ahh, Sakura-chan. Then Sasuke did a mean thing! He shoved the bird in my mouth and tried to choke me with it! Such a disregard for life. Typical Sasuke." Naruto glared at Sasuke, stretching his hands behind his head.

Sakura and Kakashi looked on as the two young men continued back and forth with each other. Some things never changed.

"I have regard for life, all right. Unless that particular life happens to be a loud-mouthed moronic piece of trash."

"Bastard, don't try to act all tough and mighty. We both know you couldn't kill me even if it meant all the tomatoes on the earth would disappear forever."

"What does that even mean?!"

"I don't know but I know you like me more than tomatoes and that's all that matters!"

"I HATE YOU! I ACTUALLY HATE YOU!"

"LIAR!"

"Guys, guys...settle down, neh? What kind of Hokage would I be if I couldn't alleviate a small dispute like this." Kakashi put both his hands on the heads of both boys in a sagely manner. He closed his eyes and breathed in. Naruto and Sasuke looked at their former teacher in utter confusion. "By the all knowing power vested in me granted by Uchiha Obito's will from the far-reaching corners of the afterlife, I command you two to stop fighting."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Oi, sensei, that's not how it works. You're embarrassing me and my future descendants. AND my ancestors. AND probably Obito's spirit."

Sakura smiled, watching her three most influential men in her life interact with each other like old times. She really missed the dynamic of her genin team. Having been the medic for countless missions for other teams, she really never found any group of people that could compare to the three standing before her.

"Sasuke," she smiled as he turned to her, face mid-frown as he tried to swat away Kakashi. She joined the three men and gently reached out to touch the forearms of Sasuke and Naruto. "Sasuke, we've really missed you. And we're glad to see you after all this time."

Sasuke's face softened at Sakura's words. He was quite fond of her, although he didn't really know how to respond. "Thanks." He figured that would suffice.

"Ugh, is that all you have to say? Thanks? God, Sasuke, you're the most emotionally stunted person I know. I swear, every morning I wake up thankful I didn't end up as cold and heartless as you, considering I was an ostracized orphan my whole life."

The young Uchiha's face quickly morphed into that of aggravation at Naruto's words, grabbing a fistful of Naruto's hair. "You asshole, I would've been well-adjusted had it not been for certain events in my life."

"Sa-Sakura-chan, make him stop."

Sakura smirked. "I hope you plan on sticking around, Sasuke-kun. Naruto's been out of control without you to keep him in line."

"Saaakuraaaa-chaaaan, how could you betray me like that?"

Sasuke chuckled quietly to himself. While the morning definitely started off pretty bumpy, seeing his old teammates and sensei lightened his mood considerably. This was fine. He could see them all this once and that would be enough. And then he'd go back to being away from everyone. And maybe Naruto or Sakura or Kakashi would bother him occasionally, but not too often because he knew how busy they were and that worked out perfectly for him anyway. Yeah, he could handle tha—

"Sasuke. Earth to Sasuke."

Someone was snapping their fingers in his face. It was Naruto.

"Is Sasuke-kun all right? His eyes are glazed over?" he saw Sakura lean over to peer at his eyes.

"Are his pupils dilated? Sasuke, you don't do drugs, do you?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"No, guys, its ok. He's like this now. Super absent-minded. He calls it introspective or whatever, but seriously, sometimes he'll just zone out for 10-15 minutes. It's annoying but funny to see someone like Uchiha Sasuke just kinda stand their with drool hanging down their mouth."

Sasuke did not appreciate that. "I do not drool, usuratonkachi."

"You might as well."

"So anyway, what brings you into this part of town, Sasuke? I can't imagine you'd be here just to hang out." As much as the Rokudaime was glad to see his student alive and well, he was hard-pressed to find a veritable reason for the man to come out of his hiding place. But then again, anyone involving Naruto usually meant doing things very out of character.

Naruto smiled brightly, loping his arm around Sasuke's tense shoulders. "I Rasengan'd a hole into Sasuke's storefront and now I just have to help him fix it. It's only fair. We made a gentleman's agreement. Of course, we gotta get supplies though, but not before making our rounds in Konoha!"

Sasuke didn't hide his grimace.

"By the way, did you guys know he's like a super famous carpenter or whatever? Apparently he's made stuff for, neh, what's it you said? Kings? Yeah! He has a little store where he works on his stuff over in the Nomad's Section of Konoha. Lives above the place too. Super lowkey. "

Sasuke wanted to throw up.

Kakashi and Sakura looked on in amazement. The last thing they expected Sasuke to make of himself was a carpenter. The Uchiha crossed his arms as a means to shield himself from their questioning expressions. He should've known Naruto would tell everyone and their moms the details of his new life. Why couldn't Sasuke ever have anything to himself?

"Sasuke-kun, that's great!" He looked up in surprised at Sakura's tone. She sounded oddly sincere and in no way demeaning…huh...weird. "I'm so glad you've found something that fulfills you. I mean, I didn't really understand completely why you wanted to leave the shinobi life, but I knew you were tired. I'm happy you're doing well."

Sakura was such a doll sometimes. Unlike some people…Sasuke gave a quick side glare to Naruto.

Kakashi clasped his hands together, the sudden noise gathering the attention of the youngsters surrounding him. Well, they were youngsters in his eyes. "Well, you two seem to be busy. Actually, not really. But Sakura-chan and I were actually on our way to an important meeting." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, catching a glint in Kakashi's eyes that he wasn't sure he liked all too much. "Neh, let's be off, former pupil of mine!" He saluted Naruto and Sasuke and turned dramatically, causing the en of his Hokage rob to swirl dramatically in his wake.

Sakura smiled and waved goodbye to her old teammates, jogging after the Rokudaime in his wake, who was walking purposefully in the opposite direction of the Hokage tower.

"Sasuke, I'm not the type of scum to read the gossip rags around here, but I really feel like there's some weird truth to the rumors about Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei…"

Working hard to keep his face as straight as possible, Sasuke pursed his lips. "I thought I was just imagining things. I don't doubt they have an 'important meeting.' I'd rather not know either way." Not to mention, Sasuke had already been suspecting this before he even encountered the two in person. He wasn't about to admit to Naruto that he perhaps had a stack of four years worth of back issues of the Konoha Post. He would have to hide those before they started on renovating his wall. Regardless, the questionable closeness of Sakura and Kakashi were daily fodder in the local tabloids, and it was one of those rumors that Sasuke had been following since its conception, in addition to Naruto's love life (or lack of, much to Sasuke's mild relief.)

"So they're definitely fucking."

"Try to be less delicate next time."

Sasuke watched as Naruto's neutral facial expression slowly morphed into one that could rival that of the most constipated baby.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI YOU PERVERT!"


	3. Chapter 3

for those who might have seen this on ao3 as well and have noticed a slight chapter discrepancy, i bunched 1+2 together here when i first uploaded it, then subsequently forgot to update it at the same time as when i was on ao3 as u can all see. so IRL this is chapter 4 but its chapter 3 here bc im dumb. kbye

* * *

Naruto gazed at Sasuke as they walked along one the dusty street. It had been so long since he'd laid eyes on his old friend and frankly since yesterday, he felt as though he were stuck in a dream world. And though Sasuke's exterior was showing that of annoyance at the current situation, he knew that the man was content enough to not run back to his shop. Naruto also suspected that Sasuke's actual demeanor had changed in the past five years. He seemed to be more of a dreamer, sighing a lot and staring wistfully in the distance. And he could see the faintest hint of a smile on Sasuke's face. Naruto was so happy he was sure nothing could bring him down from this high.

The two walked along in silence, feeling the morning sun slowly heat the earth. The shops around them slowly began to wake up and soon the streets began to fill with people going about their daily errands.

Sasuke was currently concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, only casting the occasional glance at Naruto but otherwise facing the ground. He wasn't used to walking around this part of town with his normal clothes on. He wasn't used to being so exposed and recognizable. But oddly, he felt less uncomfortable than he initially expected to, so there was that.

And it was in this moment that a most unlikely trio (plus a dog) happened upon the two young men. Having just arrived from a mission, Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba chalked up their tired and weary dispositions to creatng the passing image of Sasuke. Surely their senses were deceiving all three of them at the same exact time, right? Probably a weird henge Naruto made using his shadow clones…perhaps he'd finally gone off the deep end.

However after several seconds of closer examination, the three shinobi realized this wasn't a shadow clone, and quite possibly the actual Uchiha Sasuke that had suddenly stepped out of the shinobi ranks to do fuck all. Akamaru yipped.

"YO!" Kiba was the first to say something, back tracking his steps to Naruto and Sasuke. Ino and Shikamaru exchanged glances, or rather Ino looked to Shikamaru and he rolled his eyes and sighed in resignation, and walked after Kiba. There was no way they were going to miss this, however troublesome Shikamaru found it. Ino could only hope Sakura had not yet run into the two men yet, although later that day she would end up sorely disappointed to find that Team 7 had briefly reunited on the very same streets not too long before her.

Sasuke couldn't believe his luck. It was not even 10am and they had managed to run into more than half of the Rookie 9. Didn't they have things to do besides loiter around Konoha? What kind of hidden village was Kakashi running? Although he couldn't say he was surprised. He'd have to ask Naruto about the current affairs of the village later on. He only kept up with the petty gossip of the town, and usually could care less about the political rumor mill, but seeing his old peers brought about burning curiousities within the young Uchiha.

"Oh, Kiba, hey! Just got back from your mission, neh?" Naruto bent slightly to ruffle Akamaru's fur and scratch behind his ears. Sasuke stayed aloof.

"Yeah, literally just got back. Dead tired to be honest but not tired enough to meet your new friend." Kiba went to give a chummy punch to Sasuke's shoulder, who promptly dodged, rolling his eyes in the process.

"It's a pleasure, Dog Breath."

"This is so troublesome…"

"Oh shut up, don't pretend like you're not dying to know the details, too!"

"Ino, Shikamaru! Wow, this has been a day of reunions. I couldn't have planned it better myself. First Sakura-chan and Sensei, (at that Ino deflated considerably) and now you three. Hehe, aren't you guys impressed? I finally managed to track him down, and by a chance encounter too! And now he's stuck with me for the day! Well, forever actually. No way I'm letting him out of my sight AGAIN."

Naruto emphasized the last word with a pointed look at Sasuke, who merely turned his head away in response.

"Moron, can we just get a move on? We don't have all day to fuck around."

"Unlike your appearance, it seems your nasty attitude has stayed the same." Kiba crossed his arms, giving Sasuke several once overs. He felt an inkling of deja-vu. Hadn't he seen that hair before…? It wasn't Madara…

Kiba head snapped up in recognition. "OI!"

Shikamaru frowned. "Quit being so loud. This is giving me such a headache."

"Uchiha! I've seen you before!"

Naruto looked puzzled. "Uh, Kiba of course you've seen him before, he went to the academy with us and participated in the Chuunin exams and…well, you know the story." He scratched his nose in confusion as Kiba waved his arms about.

"No, no, no, that's not what I mean! Like, I've SEEN SASUKE since FIVE YEARS AGO, SERIOU-"

Sasuke's eyes widened and a ringing started in his ears as he felt the onset of a slight panic. Oh no. He suddenly remembered! How could he be so careless? He thought he'd disquised himself pretty well that one time when he'd…

"—TOTALLY MADE A TABLE FOR MY MOM AND HE EVEN HELPED BRING IT INTO THE HOUSE DUDE! ON MY OWN TURF! WE SHARED SAKE!"

A stray tumbleweed rolled by. Silence. Akamaru growled in his throat at the tension.

Sasuke's palms were collecting a nice reservoir of sweat. Enough that he'd soon start thinking about donating to Suna, who were in something of a drought currently. He stifled a chuckle at his own joke. No, Sasuke, now was not the time to be laughing. He made a cursory glance towards Naruto, whose face was hidden from view as the young man stared silently at the ground. So much for nothing being able to bring him down from his cloud nine.

At this point Sasuke was growing concer-

CRUNCH!

Everything went black and a few seconds later, Sasuke blearily awoke to Naruto straddling and shaking him back and forth by the collar of his shirt, who was red faced and shouting something that sounded very, very angry. The other three crowded around behind Naruto, looking slightly concerned for the violent scene unfolding before them, but mostly bemused. Their mouths were moving too…or was that just because he was being shaken so violently.

As his senses slowly came back to him, he began to hear what was being said around him.

"-STUPID BASTARD I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'VE PLAYED US ALL FOR FOOLS FOR YEARS I SWEAR I AM GOING TO KILL YOU—YOU INGRATEFUL GOOD FOR NOTHING—"

"Logically it just doesn't make sense. How can you disappear that well for five years anyway without being noticed? Konoha is not that big and it's one of the most elite shinobi villages. It's as if we are living in some poorly thought out plot for some television drama. Either that or a sign we need to step up our recon and investigative programs. More than anything, this concerns me. I'll have to mention this to Kakashi-sama."

"Dude, I can't believe my mom had a table made by you and we didn't even know like what the fuck?"

"How did you not deduce a pale, dark-haired male named Uchiha Sasuke making you a table over a considerable period of time MIGHT be the same Uchiha Sasuke that just up and left the ninja ranks one day? Like Kiba, are you that dumb? Maybe YOU should take a break from being a shinobi. Shikamaru's right, we should've been able to see through him."

"Hey, blondie, shut the fuck up. First of all, he didn't give his last name, and I'm fairly certain Sasuke is a common name amongst civilians and the area he came from is ALL CIVILIAN. It's not like I was actively searching for the bastard. I'm not Uzumaki."

"Sasuke, how long did it take you to suppress your chakra coils enough to pass as a civilian amongst the elitest of ninja? I know you didn't get it medically done, or there'd be records. More, how did you test that out? This could very well be valuable information as it's somewhat unprecedented."

Akamaru was barking up a storm, and people on the street began to gather around.

Meanwhile Sasuke was still being pummeled to the ground by Naruto, who was conveniently ignoring Sasuke's strangled protests. It wasn't that Sasuke was weak, far from it actually, but being at such a disadvantaged position, using just his physical force would only prove to be futile. He shut his eyes and decided since none of the three watching the scene were going to do much except discuss Sasuke's mastery of disguise and ask him questions he wasn't in any position to answer at the moment, he would have to resort to extreme measures.

He breathed in and thanked the Gods that his arms were free and Naruto was too distracted from his incessant yells and screams. His hands made a few familiar signs, going unnoticed by all except for Shikamaru, who's eyes narrowed in alarm.

Chi chi chi…

Naruto stopped immediately at the familiar sound. He hadn't heard that in…

He looked down and saw one of Sasuke's hands glowing bright and powerful with a blue force.

"CHIDORI!" and "SON OF A BITCH!" rang through the air. Naruto lept off and moved away just in time for Sasuke to kick himself off the ground and plunge his fist forward into the air, deliberatly missing Naruto by a lock of hair. He hadn't been planning on hitting his friend in the first place, just only to alarm the man enough to stop beating the crap out of him.

The air around the five young adults crackled with the residual intensity of the jutsu. Sasuke was winded. He hadn't expended that much chakra since the war. He swayed in his place and sat down on his haunches, putting his palms up to his eyes to try and stay focused as Shikamaru tried to disperse the growing crowd of onlookers.

"Nothing to see here," he lazily waved away a group of young women. "Please keep walking," he rolled his eyes and shooed a bunch of school children. "Carry on," he sighed.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaamn," whistled Kiba.

"Sasuke, you're looking a little pale. Are you ok?" He felt two arms help him up and guide him to a cooler location. He briefly opened his eyes and saw past Ino's slim figure Naruto gazing at him with furrowed brows, feeling the area of his hair that had just been singed off by Sasuke's Chidori.

After a couple minutes of silence, Sasuke had somewhat recovered enough to stand. His nose was dribbling blood, and he had a gash on his left temple. All in all, it could've been worse, he thought to himself, though he was surprised at Naruto's violent outburst. He'd have to tread carefully until further notice.

"Jeez, dobe, with that temper it's no wonder they didn't make you Hokage."

Okaaaay, not exactly what he'd call 'treading carefully' but it was a start, maybe.

Naruto's eyes snapped up to pin a glare on Sasuke, who was using the bottom of his shirt to soak up his bloody nose. It was a sight to behold: a very dusty and bloody Sasuke holding up his now bloody t-shirt and exposing his toned stomach to the world. Naruto swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"Ugh…" was all he could muster up. He had a nasty retort ready, but of course Sasuke had to distract him with his stupid body and his stupid face.

"Duuuuuuude, that was crazy. Sasuke, was that the first jutsu you'd done since before? Fuck, man. Can't believe I was a witness to that."

"Yeah. And it'll be the last. I hope you're honored Naruto," Sasuke smirked, briefly grimacing as small twitches of pain traveled down his arm. He'd way over-extended his chakra, considering he'd all but suppressed a fraction of what he used to carry in his reserves.

Inwardly, Ino was pleased. So what if Sakura saw Sasuke first today? She was SO going to one-up her tonight after seeing this!

Shikamaru groaned at the dysfunctionality of the company he kept, absolutely hating that he got caught up in this mess in the first place. He was tired and hungry and dirty and all he wanted was to go home.

"Guys, as much as I'd love to stay here and chat, which I don't, I'm gonna have to call it a day. I'm going home. Good to see you Sasuke. Don't be a stranger. Or do, I really don't care." As he walking off in the direction of his home, he briefly put up his hand in goodbye.

While their curiousities were definitely more piqued than Shikamaru's, Ino and Kiba were in the same tired boat as the lazy genius. Having been on the same mission together and just getting back to Konoha that morning, they were exhausted. The momentary chaos had effectively distracted them of their low energy levels, but now that everything was back to normal (so to speak), they were hit with a wall of lethargy.

"I think Shikamaru's got the right idea. But that doesn't mean we won't drag your story out of you one of these days, Sasuke! I got my eyes on you!" Ino smiled cheekily at her old crush, having moved on from him years ago, but still keeping a soft spot for him. He was too cute not to, she figured. Kiba shrugged in agreement, clapping Naruto on the shoulder in goodbye and giving a brief wave to Sasuke. The two walked on, Akamaru following after, discussing the events that had unfolded before their eyes. Such a crazy morning.

When the three were finally out of their sight, Naruto and Sasuke were left in silence, standing in the shade of a small building. Suffice to say things were pretty awkward.

Sasuke pinched his lips together in frustration, glancing at Naruto, who seemed lost in his thoughts. Both of them felt bad for their actions. Sasuke, for being a little twat for the past five years, and Naruto, for beating up his best friend and causing him to overspend his low chakra reserves, possibly causing him injury. The two sighed and caught each others eyes.

"Listen—" "Sasuke, I—" They both began and stopped at the same time, realizing the other had something to say.

"You go," said Naruto, scratching the back of his head.

Sasuke grimaced. "Listen, ahh, I just wanted to…apologize…for being, you know, so unwilling to be amongst you guys even though I was so close. It was a personal decision obviously and I had my reasons, but I didn't take your feelings into account, you in particular, and I feel bad. I guess."

Naruto smiled and felt his mood rise with Sasuke's words. "Hehe, never thought I'd ever hear you apologize to the likes of me. Or anyone! Hehehe, I should've brought a tape recorder."

"Dobe, enjoy the moment because it's never going to happen again."

"Uh huh. It seems with your newly reflective personality, you've gotten softer."

"Try me you piece of trash."

But Sasuke smiled as he crossed his arms. The air had finally cleared and whatever previous misgivings Naruto had with Sasuke were all but forgotten, for the most part. He was still probably going to get his ear chewed out later today, but for now, he was going to enjoy the friendly banter. Perhaps he had gotten softer with time…but no one had to know…

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's forearm, effectively taking him from his thoughts. "Hey, let's go get those supplies already! We've been hanging around long enough!"


	4. Chapter 4

**here is chapter 4..happy holidays! **

* * *

The rest of the way passed in an awkward silence. Sasuke kept to himself in order to nurse his wounded ego…he hated apologizing as a child and hated it now as an adult. No amount of self-discovery and reinvention would change that. Naruto, on the other hand, was turning over the prior events in his mind. For the longest time, all he's wanted was to understand Sasuke. The guy was as perplexing as they came. Their friendship had always seemed to exist on some proverbial tightrope, precariously balancing itself over an endless drop into nothingness. Like…were they friends? Rivals? Reluctant teammates who somehow ended up creating a bond that would withstand the drama of the past, oh, ten years? Not to mention that whole revelation of the he and Sasuke being practically yet another set of reincarnations of the Ashura and Indra. Honestly, what even was that?

Now that he thought about it, the strained nature of their relationship made so much sense…

Sasuke on the other hand was pointedly ignoring Naruto, definitely not sparing any space in his brain for any related thoughts, and if he could feel the other man's eyes on him every so often, he was totally ignoring them. There was so much cool dirt on the ground, Sasuke was way more interested in staring at the soil than to speak to what seemed to be a brooding Naruto.

He knew that the awkward air would pass eventually. All he needed to do was ride it out, much like any hurdle life had thrown at him since the end of the war. He wasn't sure when he became so passive to the point of being avoidant, but it happened and he wasn't about to switch gears right then and there.

The two finally stopped in front of a small hardware store whose existence completely evaded Naruto before today. Apparently Sasuke was a regular—which made sense all things considered. They walked in and Sasuke was greeted by the shopkeeper, although not immediately as he usually would be. Being in normal clothing threw the shopkeeper off. Usually he saw the Uchiha in very elaborate garb, due to the man's desire to stay unrecognizable in the event of running into his former peers.. His hair was a dead giveaway though. Honestly, you could probably choke someone with it if you really tried.

They were in and out in a couple minutes, as Sasuke really only needed to buy some nails and fasteners. He hadn't really used them in his work ever since he discovered the wonders of fitted joints. Not only did it make for longer lasting furniture, but also it just looked pretty cool. Naruto was confused when he tried to explain this, as the man had caused a near scene about how "You should have nails already like tons of them, what kind of woodmaker are you?" and then after being explained that a woodmaker is actually not even a profession "You totally know what I mean. Whats a carpenter without nails?! Aren't joints like part of bodies?"

Sasuke looked on at his confused friend. It was weird seeing Naruto, his equal and the next in running for Kage probably, scrunch his face in confusion trying to imagine the ins and outs of basic table jointery. Weird, but satisfying.

"I'll show you how I make my stuff later…maybe." Before Naruto could respond, Sasuke stalked off in the direction of his apartment. He eventually heard footsteps running after him. Sasuke smiled to himself. Some things never changed.

Because they were walking and not jumping through the roofs, the two made it back to Sasuke's little home in just over an hour. By then the streets were full of people selling odds and ends, children playing, and parents mingling about with their neighbors. For Sasuke, it was a setting he had grown accustomed to. For Naruto, even though he was a top aide to the Hokage and dealt with a lot of PR work within the village, it was a whole new side of Konoha that he had never seen. Due to the civilian-centric nature of the neighborhood, and it being in the outerskirts of the village, Naruto never really had a reason to visit and get to know the area. They were largely self-sufficient and tended to stay out of ninja affairs, and it was clear that this set-up was preferable above any other option. So Naruto drank in the sights, resisting the urge to stop at every little stand and store that piqued his interest. It was hard, but he knew that there was work to be done that day. From the way Sasuke was making it seem, this definitely was not going to be a one day affair.

Finally, the two made it to Sasuke's studio. As Sasuke went to unlock the front door, his body tensed. The door was already unlocked…but how? Confused, he quickly opened the door only to reveal a teenager carefully dusting the floors, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies of the space, looking up at the sound of the creaking hinges.

"Sensei! I've been looking all over for you, what happened to your shop!?"

Sasuke sighed, forgetting with all the chaos of yesterday that his own apprentice was supposed to be in. He supposed that now was as good a time to introduce his apprentice to the man who'd be helping him repair his wall for the next however long. "Yuki, this is Naruto, the guy who annihalated the front of my store with the sole intention of creating a dramatic entrance and no respect whatsoever for others' property. Naruto, this is Yuki, my apprentice, helper…thing."

Naruto was overrun with joy. Could this young teen potentially be a precious person for Sasuke? He wanted to know all about this kid and more. Oh man he could not wait to invite Yuki for ramen. He'd get him to spill all the dirt on Sasuke and it'll be a party basically.

Yuki eyed the smiling blond with caution. From what he could tell, Naruto seemed to be the type of person whose default facial expression was a blinding grin and moreover, probably was generally optimitstic and overly eager to help people. In other words, the exact opposite of his brooding and sombre mentor. But there was something with the way Sasuke spoke of and to this "Naruto" that indicated a long-running aquaintance or comraderie, so Yuki knew that the two were at least on friendly terms. But still, Sasuke knew Yuki would've gladly fixed his wall for him even if it was just some weirdo who messed it up, so why wouldn't he just ask him to do it?

Yuki narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. Something was clearly up. Sasuke met Yuki's eyes and realized that maybe he had taken on an apprentice that had too many deductive reasoning skills. He should've tried to find someone stupider. Honestly he just wanted someone to do all the boring work and not potentially meddle into his personal life, which was the vibe that he was getting now.

"Cool. Well, I was just sweeping because you left this place a mess. Again. Also I finished sanding the tabletop for the order from Suna. It just needs to be stained."

Sasuke saw right through that calm demeanor, unlike Naruto, who was quite taken aback by his clipped response. Maybe the ramen date would have to wait.

A couple beats passed before anyone said anything, with just the three staring at each other.

Sasuke broke the silence. "Thanks Yuki. Anyway, I'm going to let you finish what you started here, sorry about the mess. Yesterday kinda took me off guard. I'll be upstairs if you need me, but I'm sure you'll have it under control down here."

"Yes boss."

Sasuke gestured for Naruto to follow him up the stairs leading into his apartment. Naruto wasn't sure what he was expecting as the floorboards creaked beneath them, but when Sasuke opened the door, he knew that it was definitely not that.

For one, there was a lot of natural lighting. Naruto had imagined a space similarly lit to a dungeon, in plain terms. Perhaps due to Sasuke's 'damaged soul hardened by cruel life events both self-inflicted and unsolicited' image that he had nurtured since the Uchiha Massacre and beyond. Apparently he had done away with that aesethetic as he traversed the lands learning how to be a wood-carver or whatever.

Instead, there was this beautiful arrangement of wooden side tables, chairs, and shelves. Every possible space seemed to be covered with small trinkets that created a shockingly inviting and warm space. Trinkets, Naruto realized, that had found their way into this home from outside of Konoha. He saw a cabinet filled with old, wooden artifacts from different countries, labeled meticulously with notes on color, carving style, and the artist, if known. A bookcase nearby was filled with, not ninja scrolls like his own back home, but inticately bound books on woodworking, carpentry techniques, and interestingly enough, various folktale anthologies, with bookmarks and pages haphazardly sticking out from them. Underneath was a shelf of what looked like journals, beaten and frayed and used and loved. Everything seemed lived in and in his casual glance around the room, zeroed in on a nest of blankets and graceslessly dove for them.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, strolling forward and sitting on the cushion next to the burrito that was Naruto.

"You've really punched up your homemaking skills Sasuke. I didn't know you were such a…collector."

"It's all for the sake of research. Just because I'm a civilian now doesn't mean I don't have the motivation or ambition to be the best at my craft."

He wasn't going to admit out loud that he does get a sense of pleasure out of finding precious objects in his travels. Finding a specific place for them to live in his small apartment gives Sasuke incredible satisfaction, as does archiving their histories and labeling them accordingly. It's almost as if he were displacing the emotional attachment that he would otherwise place on actual humans onto inanimate objects, that this neither the time nor the place.

"Yeah whatever, I bet you go out of your way to find shit like this just so you can add to your never-ending collection. You probably have some weird attachment to this stuff...this is why we have "friends" Sasuke."

Of course, though Sasuke was unwilling as ever to come to terms with his various comping mechanisms, Naruto saw right through him. Perhaps it was a testament to the many ways that there eternally connected, be it through their weird status as reincarnations of several infamous pairs of frenemies, or their own formed bond of "brotherhood" (if that), or whatever else, but seriously, it weirded Sasuke out sometimes.

So he punched Naruto in the arm.

"Fuck!" Gingerly rubbing the spot on his arm, Naruto's eyes drifted around the room. He sighed wistfully. It was hard to imagine that Sasuke had so easily moved on with a new life, but apparently that's what happened, regardless of what he kept trying to tell himself. He wondered if Sasuke had a lover living in a village far away. Which weird knick knacks were gifts from people, as reminders to come back and visit and remember them always? He didn't see anything from Konoha lying around, even the journals looked either handmade or foreign. It was strange, thinking and realizing that maybe the people he had surrounded himself with as a child and after the war weren't good enough and there was no need for small reminders of his shinobi past because it wasn't something he cared enough about, or hated so much that he'd rather forget…although considering the circumstances, it would make sense, but still. Didn't anyone of his comrades –didn't he—matter at all to Sasuke?

Naruto didn't realize he was crying until, "Shit Naruto, did I hit you that hard?!"

Naruto sniveled, thoroughly embarrassed but not fighting his emotions. He looked at Sasuke with glistening eyes. "I feel sad because you don't care about me!" and with that he started to sob outright, burying his face in the softness of the blankets, and swaddling himself further into his nest. He blubbered incoherently, Sasuke only catching small phrases of Naruto's rant.

"—my best friend—"

"—care about you so much—"

"—chased after—for so—seriously—"

As this was happening, Sasuke could only look on at the sobbing blond mess. He gingerly reached over and hesitantly patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"There, there.."

Naruto looked up and only sobbed harder, snot streaming down his lip in what Sasuke deemed the most disgusting yet adorable way ever. He moved his hand slowly up to the top of Naruto's head.

"There, there.."

Naruto sniffed twice, the tears seemed to have stopped flowing, and he hiccuped a couple times, catching his breath in short spurts, slowly but surely gathering himself into a coherent, functional being.

"You have all these things from different countries and villages to remind you of those places. But what about Konoha? What about us? What about me?"

Sasuke stopped patting Naruto's head. One, because it was awkwardly like petting a dog, and two, because Naruto had stopped crying and didn't need his comfort anymore (if you could call it comfort.)

He sighed and got up, making his way towards a small chest, easily overlooked due to its placement in the shadows. Naruto watched him, occasionally sniffling from the aftermath of his outright sobfest. He was feeling slightly more embarrassed at the vulnerability he had betrayed to his more cherished friend, who also happened to be the most emotionally stunted and stoic of all the people he considered precious.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder to make sure Naruto was watching. He was. He lifted the chest and brought it over to the couch, setting it on the table in front of them. He glanced at Naruto. "Well, do you want to know what's inside?"

The blond nodded, his puffy eyes now glittering with curiousity.

"Then open it."

Naruto looked at him, poking an arm out from under the coccoon of blankets and carefully lifting the lid open. He gasped, closing the lid quickly and turning to stare at Sasuke, who was staring down at his hands grasping his knees.

"Are you…really?"

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto turned back to the chest, lifting the lid all the way this time and propping it open.

Inside were a number of ephemera and objects pertaining to his childhood, before the massacre and after, his times with team 7, a small number of items that Naruto could only imagine were from his travels with Orochimaru and Kabuto in Sound, and subsequently with Team Taka, and then things from after the war during his small stint as a reformed Leaf ninja. He dug through and found a graying manila folder and when he opened it, the paperwork for Sasuke's release from the Konoha system fell out, in addition to medical evaluations done by Kabuto years ago. He found blunt kunai, old bandages, and completed mission stubs.

"Sasuke…all this stuff…I checked your compound as soon as I found out you were gone all those years ago. I thought it had been looted."

"I originally left it all behind, keeping only my katana and summoning scroll with me…but I went back shortly after to grab everything. I suppose I wasn't so careful when I cleaned house if it looked that ransacked," Sasuke chuckled. He started digging through the chest as well. "I haven't looked through this in years."

Naruto set his stuff down and opted to stare at Sasuke instead, who was smiling softly to himself as he flipped through an album of weird polaroids taken during his time with Taka. Sasuke had really changed the past five years. There was a softness around his eyes that was never there back when they were both shinobi. He had never heard Sasuke to be so open and welcoming and honest. He was still arrogant and kind of emotionally stunted, but also considerate and not as angry with the world. As much as he wanted Sasuke to come back to the life he was formerly bound to, he knew that would be selfish. His friend had finally found peace, and he'd be such a prick to take that away.

"I'm glad you finally found a way to be happy," he said. Sasuke glanced up, not realizing that Naruto had gone silent and had been staring at him this whole time.

He smiled, closing his eyes and exhaling loudly out of his nose. "Yeah, you know, I really am happy. I did this mostly to escape but it turns out I think I really fell into my true calling. My dad would be so ashamed if he knew what's become of the last of the Uchihas. It just feels nice to just be known for something other than my own bloodline and all the shit that came along with it."

"Pleeeeaaase don't disappear again," Naruto leaned against Sasuke's side, staring up at Sasuke's face. Sasuke turned to glare at Naruto.

"No promises but I probably won't seeing as it'd be too much trouble to relocate my business. You've finally lucked out."

Naruto scoffed. "So when are we gonna finally get started on this door?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto and started to rise. "We need wood first. All the stuff in my studio at the moment is for client work…so we need to get some specifically for the storefront."

"Wha—are you serious? Another field trip? Am I ever gonna do this building thing? Can't we just get Yamato to do his Senju thing?"

"No, let's GO."

Naruto signed in resignation, following Sasuke out the door. "Fine."

The two passed Yuki, who had now gone on to staining the table for the Suna client. He gave Sasuke a curious look. "Where are you guys headed?"

Sasuke was about to answer, but Naruto beat him to it. "We're getting wood or something. Apparently all this—" he swept his arm around the cluttered studio, "—is reserved for clients."

Yuki narrowed his eyes, only to be met by more narrowed eyes from Sasuke.

Sasuke ushered Naruto out the door, giving a half-hearted wave and thank you to Yuki, who scoffed to himself. "Boss is so fucking transparent. There is plenty of scrap for that wall and he knows it. Going to get some more wood, yeah right."


End file.
